cmiVFX has released their newest lesson offering another glimpse into magical world of visual effects. The flows of power are often visualized with streamers of light chaotically traversing across the scene. How does one create chaos but also maintain the control a director will require? In this lesson we will teach one way this is done in a production environment. The workflow offered here is tested and proven effective within the film industry. This new, exclusive effect technique can succeed in scenarios where conventional particle control systems fail. Additionally, many lessons stop with mere particles in place. Martin Sawtell will teach you one way in which those particles may be used after the simulation is done. Martin answers the question, “Particles are simmed, now what?”. He demonstrates a typical way to pass the results of a particle effect on to the compositing team for further refinement. This courseware will give you a clear idea of what is required of a VFX professional and how excellent results are achieved under the pressure of a real deadline.
This video introduces viewers to the powerful world of VOPs within Houdini, and how it can be used to direct particles via it’s point cloud features. Exploring VOPs implementations in shading & rendering, geometry and POPs it presents an entire workflow that brings them together to provide you with an intuitive way to control particles. Central to this workflow is the process of developing a “point cloud advect” Digital Asset that can be re-used in any particle system- allowing the user to push particles around with arbitrary geometry that could come from SOPs, another sim or even a Mantra render.